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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
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Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about how we can embrace our shadow side with kindness and compassion. So there's actually an old parable about this. And the story goes that when the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and meditated on the night that he was to become enlightened, the god Mara slung arrows at him all night long. Now Mara is essentially the god of our shadow self.
And so his arrows were all of the unconscious thoughts, emotions and impulses of the Buddha. These included lust, jealousy, fear, shame, rage, and self doubt. And with each arrow that was slung towards him, the Buddha brought awareness and compassion to it. And when received by this compassionate awareness, each arrow dissolved and fell to the ground. Even after enlightenment, Mara, the god the other monks called the Evil One, continued to show up and visit the Buddha from time to time.
Sometimes when the Buddha was teaching, Mara would sneak around the back of the crowd. And although the monks would start to get really nervous or try to get rid of Mara, the Buddha's response to Mara's presence always remained the same. Warm, compassionate, kind. He would always say, hello, Mara. I see you.
Then he would invite Mara to tea as his honored guest. So he offered Mara a nice, comfortable seat. The Buddha would sit down beside him, fill two cups with tea and sit with Mara. And Mara would stay for a while and then he would leave. But throughout the whole visit, the Buddha remained undisturbed and content.
So when Mara visits us in the form of fear, self-loathing, troubling thoughts, difficult feelings or impulses, we too can meet those impulses, those thoughts, those feelings in the same way. In that spirit of, I see you Mara. In other words, we can meet what we might call our shadow material with awareness, acceptance, and compassion. We can recognize our hurts and fears and hold what we're seeing in the warm embrace of kindness. So often we react to our shadow by pushing it away, trying to escape it, or often by pretending there is no darkness inside of us, but that pretending only makes it more deeply entrenched.
Mindfulness is really about learning to see, befriend and accept all of ourselves, even at the most subtle levels. And when we befriend ourselves, we bring what was in the shadow into the light of awareness. Then we're not taken over by our shadow and we can work with it more skillfully. As the old saying goes, the seeing is freeing. So today's invitation.
Rather than resisting or denying the difficult or shadowy parts of yourself, see if you can gently meet them with awareness and compassion. We're going to explore this theme a little bit more in today's meditation. So I invite you to begin to settle in for that. And as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us.
Inviting Mara to Tea
Personalized support for learning how to integrate mindfulness into your life. Delivered fresh everyday by our world renowned experts. Choose meditation duration:
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Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness. Today I'm going to talk about how we can embrace our shadow side with kindness and compassion. So there's actually an old parable about this. And the story goes that when the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and meditated on the night that he was to become enlightened, the god Mara slung arrows at him all night long. Now Mara is essentially the god of our shadow self.
And so his arrows were all of the unconscious thoughts, emotions and impulses of the Buddha. These included lust, jealousy, fear, shame, rage, and self doubt. And with each arrow that was slung towards him, the Buddha brought awareness and compassion to it. And when received by this compassionate awareness, each arrow dissolved and fell to the ground. Even after enlightenment, Mara, the god the other monks called the Evil One, continued to show up and visit the Buddha from time to time.
Sometimes when the Buddha was teaching, Mara would sneak around the back of the crowd. And although the monks would start to get really nervous or try to get rid of Mara, the Buddha's response to Mara's presence always remained the same. Warm, compassionate, kind. He would always say, hello, Mara. I see you.
Then he would invite Mara to tea as his honored guest. So he offered Mara a nice, comfortable seat. The Buddha would sit down beside him, fill two cups with tea and sit with Mara. And Mara would stay for a while and then he would leave. But throughout the whole visit, the Buddha remained undisturbed and content.
So when Mara visits us in the form of fear, self-loathing, troubling thoughts, difficult feelings or impulses, we too can meet those impulses, those thoughts, those feelings in the same way. In that spirit of, I see you Mara. In other words, we can meet what we might call our shadow material with awareness, acceptance, and compassion. We can recognize our hurts and fears and hold what we're seeing in the warm embrace of kindness. So often we react to our shadow by pushing it away, trying to escape it, or often by pretending there is no darkness inside of us, but that pretending only makes it more deeply entrenched.
Mindfulness is really about learning to see, befriend and accept all of ourselves, even at the most subtle levels. And when we befriend ourselves, we bring what was in the shadow into the light of awareness. Then we're not taken over by our shadow and we can work with it more skillfully. As the old saying goes, the seeing is freeing. So today's invitation.
Rather than resisting or denying the difficult or shadowy parts of yourself, see if you can gently meet them with awareness and compassion. We're going to explore this theme a little bit more in today's meditation. So I invite you to begin to settle in for that. And as always, thank you for your practice and your presence here with us.
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This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
- Babs312
This is the app I turn to when I want to feel calm and loved.
- Abby
Melli has a beautiful way of guiding and reminding us of the stillness within.
- Adrienne James
I have been on a journey of healing and learning self-love. Amidst the work, I have been using the mindfulness app for the gentle reminders, guides to the moment (especially the difficult ones).
Kelly Boys offers a fresh and illuminating take on how to step out of lifelong patterns that keep snagging us.
- Tara Brach, PhD
Truly life changing. This isn't solely meditation and mindfulness...this is about striving to be the best the versions of ourselves.
- Marisa, Plus+ Member
Relaxing and assuring beyond description... thank you, Cory.
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Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
Shamash's guidance is a gift of wisdom to help us in our busy and stressful lives.
- Paul Gilbert, PhD, FBPsS, OBE, Centre for Compassion Research and Training, University of Derby, United Kingdom
Excellent! Cory gently guides you into internal peace.
- Steve Ericson
A necessary tool for those who feel lost.
- Piper
Just want to say a big thankyou to all involved as this has had a positive impact in my daily life 🙏 Valuable teachings that have allowed me to have a better relationship not only with those around me, but with myself. Heal ourselves and we heal the world 💫✨🌍
- Marty
I start every day with Cory or Melli for my daily practice. Including this app into my practice helps me continue to build more mental focus and understanding of my thought processes. What a welcome and powerful gift.
- Oku
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